India's Second-Richest Man Gautam Adani Charged in New York with $250 Million Bribery Scheme in Solar Contracts

Nov 20, 2024, 11:18 PM

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani, India's second-richest man and chairman of the Adani Group, has been indicted in New York by US federal prosecutors on charges of participating in a multi-billion-dollar fraud and bribery scheme. Adani and several executives, including Sagar Adani and Vneet Jaain, are accused of paying more than $250 million (approximately ₹2,029 crore) in bribes to Indian government officials, including through the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), to secure solar energy contracts among the world's largest projects. Authorities allege that Adani personally met with an Indian government official to advance the bribery scheme, which took place between 2020 and 2024. The defendants are alleged to have frequently met and discussed the bribery scheme, with evidence found on several phones. US authorities allege that the defendants concealed these bribes from US investors, misleading them while raising over $1 billion in securities offerings and $2 billion in loans from US markets. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has filed parallel charges in connection with the alleged bribery scheme. Following the indictment, dollar-denominated bonds issued by the Adani Group fell as much as 10 cents on the dollar, and the conglomerate scrapped a planned $600 million bond offering. This marks a significant development for the Adani Group, impacting its international financing efforts.